Welcome to NBA Draft week!
Things just got a whole lot more interesting for the Phoenix Suns after they acquired the No. 10 pick as part of the Kevin Durant trade, a selection that was the most valuable part of Phoenix’s return.
Nos. 10 and 29 owned by the Suns are their best chance at establishing a new young core around Devin Booker to begin contending again in the next few years. And given the extreme lack of assets elsewhere for Phoenix, who the team picks 10th overall and how that prospect develops is the X-factor of the “pivot and reload” plan.
With its importance in mind, as we did for the 29th pick with the 29 for 29 series, let’s paint the full canvas off possibilities at No. 10.
RELATED STORIES
Kevin Durant all smiles after trade to Rockets, says Suns fans 'wanted me to go'
Heavy lifting for the Suns begins following Kevin Durant trade
Kevin Durant traded to Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and draft picks
What prospects could be on the 2025 NBA Draft board for the Suns at No. 10?
Heavy lifting for the Suns begins following Kevin Durant trade
Kevin Durant traded to Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and draft picks
What prospects could be on the 2025 NBA Draft board for the Suns at No. 10?
OK! There are two widely-agreed upon drops in the tiers of this draft: No. 1 to 2nd and No. 2 to everything else.
There are also other tiers below that. Beyond Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper going top-two, five of the next six picks should be (in some order) Ace Bailey, Tre Johnson, Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach.
If that is not the case and one of those guys falls, it’s an easy selection for the Suns. If that is indeed the case, the Suns will be picking out of the fourth tier, one that is fairly cluttered and muddled up over more than a dozen prospects, depending on evaluations of certain prospects.
There are two ways to look at this. One, the value of the 10th pick isn’t that far off from the value of the late teens. Two, there is much more value in the 10th pick as opposed to one in the late teens because Phoenix gets its choice from this crop.
I lean much more in the direction of two, and here’s why.
Out of this tier, one of the following prospects is going to wind up as one of the three best players in this draft. There is too much upside. And that is a gigantic opportunity for the Suns.
I would even go as far as arguing half of the prospects in this tier have higher ceilings than some players that will get picked before them, but the treacherously-sized gap between the ceiling and floor is why they are getting picked later. If we’re talking about potential, it’s bust potential.
That’s quite the variable for the Suns of all franchises, the one that undoubtedly has to nail this selection more than any other team in that range.
With that in mind, here’s a rundown on this group of 13 prospects based on two factors: how they become a star and how they become a bust.
Joan Beringer, C, Cedevita Olimpija, 18 years old
Measurables: 6-foot-11, 235 pounds, 7-foot-5 wingspan Stats: 5.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 0.5 APG, 1.4 BPG, 0.5 SPG, 0.7 TPG, 64.4 FG% (3.4 FGA/G), 0.0 3P% (0.0 3PA/G), 56.6 FT% (1.8 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 15, The Athletic: 13, The Ringer: 18, Yahoo!: 34
How he becomes a star: Beringer is one of the best athletes in the draft, and with his limited experience playing basketball of under five years, he has mainly stuck to using his traits with rim running and defending the basket. He would be need to be elite in both of those categories, all while developing his frame to add much-needed strength in order to handle the required toughness in the key. Given how little time he has spent playing the sport, perhaps there is some hidden potential beyond that with some skill-based elements to incorporate.
How he becomes a bust: The understanding with Beringer will be that he is a project, and that is often a good way to get lost in the shuffle. While it sounds simple to tell a young big man to just roll to the rim and block shots, there is nuance with timing and positioning for each of those elements of the game. If that feel isn’t there and he’s unable to develop any other attributes on offense — such as going off the bounce, passing or shooting — he would become a limited player quickly.
Carter Bryant, F, Arizona, 19 years old
Measurables: 6-foot-8, 215 pounds, 7-foot wingspan Stats: 6.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.0 APG, 1.0 BPG, 0.9 SPG, 1.0 TPG, 46.0 FG% (4.8 FGA/G), 37.1 3P% (2.8 3PA/G), 69.5 FT% (1.6 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 12, The Athletic: 10, The Ringer: 6, Yahoo!: 17
How he becomes a star: Bryant has immense potential as a multi-positional defender thanks to his ideal physical profile as a 3-and-D wing and impressive ability already at his age. He could become one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA, and with that, was a decent shooter at Arizona while showing upside to get much better. Bryant’s minimal role didn’t allow much of a lens into his potential beyond those two areas of the game, so maybe there’s something to his passing flashes and he’s actually got some playmaking ability off the ball.
How he becomes a bust: Bryant could just not be as good of a defender as anticipated. Flagg had his way with him in the NCAA Tournament, and if Bryant can’t handle the bigger wings while not being quick enough to slide his feet with quicker guards, that’s a problem. The jumper was only on 105 total attempts and he cracked double digits in scoring just five times, suggesting a chance he could be a one-dimensional, one-way player.
Cedric Coward, G/F, Washington State, 21 years old
Measurables: 6-foot-7, 213 pounds, 7-foot-2 wingspan Stats: *Six games played* 17 PPG, 7 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.7 BPG, 0.8 SPG, 2.2 TPG, 55.7 FG% (10.2 FGA/G), 40 3P% (5 3PA/G), 83.9 FT% (5.2 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 21, The Athletic: 10, The Ringer: 15, Yahoo!: 5
How he becomes a star: Coward’s tape, albeit six games for Washington State, has an impressive level of maturity and poise to it. With that, his rise from D3 to the Big Sky Conference to a short stint with the Cougars inspires curiosity on if there’s more to untap with his game. While he is rightfully hyped for his 3-and-D profile, Coward has some scoring pop that could really grow into something more. Desmond Bane, Jalen Johnson and Jalen Williams are recent examples of guys with limited exposure and/or game time that went on to grow well beyond the role they were penciled in to play. Coward could be the next.
How he becomes a bust: The complete lack of tape against quality competition is undeniable and are situations that could have revealed Coward has more flaws than previously thought. The wingspan and such are pluses to projecting him as a defender but seeing him put that to the test versus better players would have been useful. Can he defend some 1s? All the 2s and 3s? Offensively, it’s hard to see how that end of the floor fails him for at least adequate value, but any wing has to shoot it at a decent level. The scoring potential could be overblown based on the light opposition.
Egor Demin, PG, BYU, 19 years old
Measurables: 6-foot-10, 199 pounds, 6-foot-10 wingspan Stats: 10.6 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 5.5 APG, 0.4 BPG, 1.2 SPG, 2.9 TPG, 41.2 FG% (9.3 FGA/G), 40 3P% (4.7 3PA/G), 69.5 FT% (2.5 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 11, The Athletic: 26, The Ringer: 11, Yahoo!: 22
How he becomes a star: At his size with his tremendous passing acumen, Demin has all of the tools to be a dominant playmaker. The concerning low volume of shot attempts and poor shooting percentages are something that must be improved and refined, with the good news being his jumper’s form does not match the very poor efficiency. If he can grow into some type of reliability as a shooter, he’d have defenses in the palm of his hand, where his balance between aggressiveness and recklessness would have to be harnessed.
How he becomes a bust: It would start with Demin never improving as a shooter, which would allow defenses to completely sag off him and increase the challenge from there, a la Josh Giddey. His decision-making at times for BYU was absolutely out of control, and with how immense the jump is between Big 12 defenses to NBA defenses, the transition could short circuit his processing of the floor.
Noa Essengue, PF, Ratiopharm Ulm, 18 years old
Measurables: 7-feet tall, 204 pounds, 7-foot-1 wingspan Stats: 10.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.5 BPG, 0.9 SPG, 1.1 TPG, 52.1 FG% (6.4 FGA/G), 27.6 3P% (2.1 3PA/G), 70.7 FT% (4.8 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 9, The Athletic: 16, The Ringer: 20, Yahoo!: 13
How he becomes a star: The tantalizing athleticism and length is one hell of a base to work with for everything you want a power forward to do in today’s NBA. The physicality he plays with just means the skill has to come along before he rapidly improves into a great player. The best way he uses all of that right now is by getting to the foul line, a great trait Essengue could bloom out of to become a real scoring threat.
How he becomes a bust: Just about everything is theoretical here. The defense, the shooting, the on-ball work and so on were not tangible enough on the international level for Essengue to have serious building blocks beyond the athletic attributes. He’s got to find a real strength to his game fairly quickly into his development or the whole process will stagnate and he will flame out.
Jeremiah Fears, PG, Oklahoma, 18 years old
Measurables: 6-foot-4, 180 pounds, 6-foot-5 wingspan Stats: 17.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 4.1 APG, 0.1 BPG, 1.6 SPG, 3.4 TPG, 43.4 FG% (12.2 FGA/G), 28.4 3P% (3.9 3PA/G), 85.1 FT% (6.3 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 8, The Athletic: 18, The Ringer: 19, Yahoo!: 6
How he becomes a star: This is an easy one. Fears’ explosive speed and awesome handle gives him the clearest path toward stardom out of anyone on this list. All that’s missing is a knockdown jumper. Like Demin, it would be curtains from there. Even his defensive shortcomings could be lived with if Fears could turn into the complete package as a primart initiator.
How he becomes a bust: Fears’ defensive tape is rough and his size doesn’t do him any favors on that end, either. So if the full offensive arsenal doesn’t come together, he’s a decent lead guard that’s a real liability on defense.
Kasparas Jakucionis, PG, Illinois, 18 years old
Measurables: 6-foot-6, 205 pounds, 6-foot-8 wingspan Stats: 15.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 4.7 APG, 0.3 BPG, 0.9 SPG, 3.7 TPG, 44 FG% (10.3 FGA/G), 31.8 3P% (5.2 3PA/G), 84.5 FT% (5.1 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 10, The Athletic: 7, The Ringer: 14, Yahoo!: 15
How he becomes a star: The star equity for Jakucionis lies in his ability to shoot off the bounce with an awesome step-back jumper and consistently break down defenses with his great lead playmaking. If the 3-point percentage does indeed not represent how good of a shooter he is due to the degree of difficulty on a lot of attempts, his size and physicality to get downhill while serving as a pull-up threat at anytime is what a top point guard in modern basketball should look like.
How he becomes a bust: Turnovers doomed Jakucioinis in a handful of Illini losses and his reads of the floor must get closer to matching his overall passing talent. If the jumper is anything less than above average, he’s not the type of all-around scorer to compensate for that. While a sound defender at his position that competes, he’s not hanging his hat on that end.
Collin Murray-Boyles, F/C, South Carolina, 20 years old
Measurables: 6-foot-8, 239 pounds, 7-foot-1 wingspan Stats: 16.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.3 BPG, 1.5 SPG, 2.4 TPG, 58.6 FG% (10.3 FGA/G), 26.5 3P% (1.1 3PA/G), 70.7 FT% (5.9 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 13, The Athletic: 8, The Ringer: 16, Yahoo!: 12
How he becomes a star: The pitch on Murray-Boyles is the Draymond Green model, with high-level defensive versatility and passing making up for shortcomings such as creating his own shot and shooting. He’s armed by a basketball IQ that is lauded by scouts. If Murray-Boyles can be that good of a defender and provider, it could make up for everything else because the defense should be as advertised. A connector on both ends of Green’s heights or somewhere close to them is a serious commodity. His physicality allowed him to be a productive scorer in college, so could part of that translate?
How he becomes a bust: There is no other Draymond Green. Murray-Boyles has to be within the range of that good as a passer and overall defender to bring lottery-level value. There is no jumper to work with here, and the athleticism doesn’t jump off the page in a way where it would elevate all the other ways Murray-Boyles fills in the gaps. That’s especially hurtful to his scoring, which will have to be supplanted by much better ball-handling to add more drives to his aresenal.
Asa Newell, C, Georgia, 19 years old
Measurables: 6-foot-10, 224 pounds, 6-foot-11 wingspan Stats: 15.4 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 0.9 APG, 1.0 BPG, 1.0 SPG, 1.1 TPG, 54.3 FG% (10.7 FGA/G), 29.2 3P% (2.7 3PA/G), 74.8 FT% (4.1 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 19, The Athletic: 29, The Ringer: 33, Yahoo!: 20
How he becomes a star: Newell’s got a very high ceiling thanks to great versatility on both offense and defense. While it lacked major success, he showed a desire to attack off the dribble and take 3s. The great mobility Newell maneuvers with could have him used in a ton of ways on defense. Newell’s very good motor on the glass is a solid foundation for him to champion in the meantime.
How he becomes a bust: The only way Newell makes sense as a lottery pick and it pays off is that aforementioned versatility coming together. The better bet right now is on defense, where Newell is also undersized as a center. If nothing dynamic comes together, Newell would just be an athletic, good rebounder.
Derik Queen, C, Maryland, 20 years old
Measurables: 6-foot-10, 248 pounds, 7-foot-1 wingspan Stats: 16.5 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.1 BPG, 1.1 SPG, 2.4 TPG, 52.6 FG% (11.1 FGA/G), 20 3P% (35 3PAs), 76.6 FT% (6.1 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 14, The Athletic: 12, The Ringer: 8, Yahoo!: 11
How he becomes a star: Queen could be the next stud in a recent new line of playmaking big men servwho e as the hub of an offense. He’s got every box checked for the skills there as a great passer for his size, a scorer in different areas of the floor and confidence in his dribble as well. Queen’s been working on his jumper, and while not ready right now, he clearly wants to add a 3 to his game that could be the special sauce to stardom.
How he becomes a bust: Queen’s profile has holes in it by being a bit undersized and having concerns over his conditioning, the latter of which is nonstarter for what he has to improve to last in the NBA. If he’s too small and not a good enough athlete to hang with the leviathans of the world on the interior, Queen’s going to have to be quite the offensive player on the perimeter to make up for that. That’s a tall ask.
Jase Richardson, PG/SG, Michigan State, 19 years old
Measurables: 6-foot-2, 178 pounds, 6-foot-6 wingspan Stats: 12.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.3 BPG, 0.8 SPG, 0.8 TPG, 49.3 FG% (8.1 FGA/G), 41.2 3P% (3.2 3PA/G), 83.6 FT% (3.4 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 18, The Athletic: 17, The Ringer: 24, Yahoo!: 10
How he becomes a star: Richardson has the best three-level scoring outlook for anyone beyond that initial group of top-eight prospects. He’s got a great mix of decisiveness and patience to getting buckets, all with a 3-point jumper that is already good to go right now. Richardson really competes on defense. Even though he’s small and will only defend a position or two, he’s got a chance to become one of the better defenders on point guards.
How he becomes a bust: Size could be Richardson’s worst enemy, with NBA length and physicality serving as two seriously potential barriers. Beyond that, there’s versatility in how he attacks defenses, as he was your classic lefty who relies on going left. His playmaking isn’t at a high level yet, so the point-guard elements of his game not coming along could be damaging.
Thomas Sorber, C, Georgetown, 19 years old
Measurables: 6-foot-11, 263 pounds, 7-foot-6 wingspan Stats: 14.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2.4 APG, 2.0 BPG, 1.5 SPG, 2.3 TPG, 53.2 FG% (10.4 FGA/G), 16.2 3P% (1.5 3PA/G), 72.4 FT% (4.4 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 16, The Athletic: 1t, The Ringer: 10, Yahoo!: 21
How he becomes a star: Sorber brings a similar skill set to Queen with less of the overall skill and more of the overall physical profile. His ginormous wingspan and ability to move his feet on the perimeter offers tons of two-way upside, as his awesome all-around production teases. If the passing is more beyond flashes and he can actually be a bit of a playmaker while extending the range on his jumper, whew boy watch out.
How he becomes a bust: Even with the wingspan, Sorber is slightly undersized and needs to grow into his frame more or he’s going to get pushed around a whole lot. If his passing is just flashes, then his offensive game becomes fairly elementary if a reliable 3-point shot does not come along, either.
Danny Wolf, C, Michigan, 21 years old
Measurables: 7 feet, 252 pounds, 7-foot-2 wingspan Stats: 13.2 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.4 BPG, 0.7 SPG, 3.2 TPG, 49.7 FG% (10.1 FGA/G), 33.6 3P% (3.1 3PA/G), 59.4 FT% (3.6 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 25, The Athletic: 14, The Ringer: 13, Yahoo!: 32
How he becomes a star: Out of the three playmaking bigs, Wolf has by far the most skill with the ball in his hands attacking defenses. His handle for a big is next level and he truly navigates the floor with it like a guard. There are obvious mismatch wrinkles to lean on with him in the fold, and developing consistency with his 3-point shot would give him value off the ball as well. Defensively, Wolf can move his feet, and maybe that’s good enough for him to survive on that end.
How he becomes a bust: Wolf is a limited athlete with explosiveness, and that could hold him back pretty much everywhere. The interior would mean he can’t finish around the rim, be the great rebounder he was in college or serve as a rim protector. The perimeter would mean he can’t create separation and put pressure on the defense beyond his initial defender, which would compromise all of his game.
Follow @KellanOlson
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Suns have intriguing options with No. 10 pick that could flip their trajectory )
Also on site :
- Tommy Fleetwood denied first PGA Tour win on last hole at Travelers Championship
- I was branded UK’s ‘most hated woman’ for buying two babies – it’s plagued my life for 2 decades.. but I have NO regrets
- [Watch] Dominik Mysterio Recreates Iconic Moment With WWE Legend